Recent content by thecebruery

So I pitched some slightly old reharvested T-58 in to a Belgian Dubbel two days ago. The T-58 had been primarily harvested from an 8.0% tripel that had a slow finish to its fermentation, harvested in early December. I also had another small amount of yeast from the same Dubbel two and a half...

So I have two stuck fermentations right now - the power to my yeast freezer failed while I was out of town, and my stored slurry went through some pretty rough temperature fluctuations that obviously lowered their vitality more than I anticipated. I have a 1.075 dubbel that's conked out around...

Just wanted to share a method I've been working on over the past few weeks to quickly (30 minutes) and accurately (to w/in 0.5psi) burst carbonate a keg. I'm sure some folks have figured this out technique out or think that it's a little too much work if they're having success w/ the "set to...

So I recently attempted to cultivate the dregs from two bottles of Chimay (I know, I know, some sources say the bottle conditioning yeast strain is not the same as the primary strain - wanted to try it anyway). I started with a few mL from the bottom of two bottles (one dubbel, one tripel) that...

My (admittedly limited) experience w/ Abbaye so far has shown that it's a pretty neutral yeast, as far as Belgians go. The batch I'm fermenting right now with it had it pitched at 17.5C and I've let it free rise to 23.5C. It's throwing some mild esters--pears, apples--and a ton of sulfur...

Rehydrated and pitched 150g (a 25% underpitch, to encourage ester formation) in to ~1.75bbl of a 1.070 dubbel (mashed at 152F, added ~10% brown sugar, to give you an idea of fermentability) two nights ago. Took off fiercely within about 12 hours. I pitched at around 63.5F (17.5C) and have let...

In case anyone's curious, I took this bad boy apart, and what I thought had happen was indeed what had happened - the body of the tap had become loosened from the shank, and the torpedo that's used to adjust the size of the aperture through which the beer comes was far bigger than it should have...

Thanks to everyone - I pushed this brew back a few days so I could spend a little more time thinking/do a little more research on this issue, but I'll be brewing it Sunday. I think I've decided to underpitch slightly (say, 0.56 million cells/P/mL, which is 25% under the "recommended" 0.75...

Just put some brand new shiny perlick flow control taps on my keezer - hooked up a few kegs today to carbonate, and (I know I know) put them at burst carb pressure (~27psi in a 39F keezer). I accidentally knocked one of the handles on one of the taps while its coupler was hooked up to a keg...

Page 34 of the Malowicki paper references the earlier Spetsig paper and gives points that temperature vs. solubility curve could be fitted to. Fitting a linear regression to 1/T vs. log of the concentration with those two data points suggests that the solubility of alpha acids at a pH of 5...

I think it's a reasonable assumption, given what I assume is a drastically decreasing solubility with temperature and given the quantities people are using as late hop additions these days. The presentation in the link I provided above suggests the solubility at boiling of humulone at pH 5.35...

Yeah, this is where I ran in to a snag. The hypothetical bittering charge I've been working with--8 ounces of 14.2% AA Galaxy in 55 gallons of 1.055 sg wort--should contribute ~146ppm alpha acids. How much of this clings to the walls of my vessel? Is it more or less than the solubility...

Is this the paper you're referring to? I can create a spreadsheet that can roughly integrate the concentration functions, taking in to account the rate constants as a function of temperature. The problem I'm running in to is defining at what points over the course of a boil and whirlpool...

Heh, it's the size of my system. The grain bill is one I've used many times before (with a few minor tweaks), so I know and trust the wort. I suppose I could do a pilot sized batch in a bucket (there's no such thing as a glass carboy where I am), but I'd have no ability to do any sort of...

About to keg a 4.5% Cascade blonde that's currently cold crashing and a 6.5% robust porter, hopped with Willamette and Hallertau. Both sitting in their own shiny new conicals! :rockin: